


Undisturbed Peace

by MeganauraZX



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Axl but he appears for 2 seconds, Crocs, Gay robot meditation, Gen, Guess can be seen in the canon?, Platonic but can be seen as XZero, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-X7 which is why X is wimpy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:26:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26912107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeganauraZX/pseuds/MeganauraZX
Summary: On a day off at HQ, X decides he wants Zero to relax. However, something odd occurs to Zero during their relaxation.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 24





	Undisturbed Peace

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic aaaaaaaaa  
> I hope you enjoy it! Ask me any questions you have in reviews and I’ll answer them.

For once, it was a calm day at HQ. The world had been in an era of peace for a while. Mavericks weren’t gone entirely, but another war has yet to happen. Today, something new was finally decided in Headquarters. Weekends. Humans tend to only work five days a week, but Maverick Hunters worked 24/7, which was understandable. Mavericks could leap up at any given moment, and everyone needed to be on their toes. But with this peacefulness lasting longer than usual, the Commander had finally decided that maybe it was time for the Hunters to get breaks. The Hunters had days off, but it was rarely followed by self care time. They usually did paperwork, classes with new recruits, or trained. So today, it was different for a lot of Hunters, especially Zero. 

Zero had never really relaxed before. He found certain activities that could relax him, like sparring, but he never did something relaxing for the  _ sake  _ of relaxing. He sparred to train. Training was his only form of relaxation. Zero had been a combat heavy Reploid from the moment he stepped out of his pod, and he still very much was. So, followed by the fact he had fought multiple wars, he’d always been very tense. Which was ironic. People always think of Zero as a cool, calm, and collected individual, but he’s far from that. When he first joined the Hunters, he definitely was calm, but after Sigma went Maverick, and a lot of the events to soon follow, Zero lost his cool. Literally. He still remained calm under pressure in most situations, making him easy to work with during any missions, but when he got into the heat of the battle, you could tell he wasn’t very ‘chill.’ He was merciless, got fired up easily, and would become impatient if the enemy was taking too long to be brought down. Not that he had anywhere to be, mind you, but he hated when fights dragged on. And now, back at HQ, it was a very awkward time for him. He wanted to train. He didn’t mind spending his free time training, but a certain someone insisted not to. That certain someone was, of course, X. 

“You need to learn what it feels like to relax,” X pestered him the night before. 

“X, if it’s about going out tomorrow I’m not gonna do it. Even if you find a spot where no one sees us, I won’t go.” Zero wasn’t a fan of going out when it wasn’t related to a mission. Nothing seemed that interesting to him. Going to a restaurant was out of the question, reploids could eat but it was not required, at most one only needed an E-tank to consume. And Zero didn’t see what was fun about going to the movies. He got bored of watching video lectures unless it was for training, so even if X picked a really action packed or suspense filled movie, Zero would get bored two seconds in. Zero could go on and on about what else he didn’t like that were considered normal activities X would insist on, but didn’t. Because to his surprise, X  _ wasn’t  _ planning on going out. 

“I just want you to come to my room tomorrow when you wake up. Just to have alone time together.” Zero stopped right in front of his dorm, and turned only his head to face his friend. 

“What do you have in mind?” Zero asked. 

X then looked embarrassed, a blush forming on his face. He poked his fingers together as he spoke. “It’s not anything bad, I just-... found this activity that I’ve been doing alone; sometimes before missions. And I thought maybe you might enjoy it. Or at the very least relax a bit.” 

“What is it?” 

X then looked more embarrassed. “I’d-... rather keep it a secret ‘till tomorrow.” 

“Wh-,“ 

“Look, just-, You don’t have to come, but if you do,  _ please  _ wear some clothes and not armor. I’ll explain it once you come, I swear.” 

Zero let out a sigh. It was strange for X to be this nervous, but Zero didn’t want to disappoint him. “Alright, I’ll come, no armor. In whatever clothes I have. What time do you want me?” 

X’s face lit up and he smiled, but then returned to a neutral expression. “I’d like it to be early in the morning, but whenever you wake up is fine.” 

Zero chuckled. “Well, I wake up early so it shouldn’t be a problem.” The two Reploids then did a wrist bump, and both headed to bed.

Now it was morning, and Zero was walking to X’s room, in undoubtedly, the weirdest clothes anyone would see him with. Zero didn’t have many clothes, He never went shopping, and only took clothes that he received as a gift. And those clothes were very unlike the Hunter. He wore a black tank top and black pants to match, but calling them pants was an understatement. They looked more like leggings, which made it only more awkward looking for the Reploid, on top of that, he had no other pairs of pants that fit him or any shirts to go over his tank tops. And worst of all: he had no shoes. Technically speaking, his feet wouldn’t hurt that bad without them, but it made his appearance all the more awkward. And despite no one being in the halls to see him, Zero was well aware of it. The tank top and leggings felt nice, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was naked. He couldn’t remember the last time he took off his armor, besides his helmet occasionally. Not having the shoulder pads, chest plate, or his big boots felt completely off. 

Zero was just glad no one saw him, it was still very early in the morning so it’s not like anyone could. At least, that’s what he thought.

“Zero? Is that really you?” He heard a laugh and looked ahead. It was Axl, who was also in casual clothes. He wore a red t-shirt, black biker jacket, baggy jeans, and weirdest of all, Crocs. The appearance was very Axl, but the Crocs were confusing. 

“Why do you have Crocs?” Zero pointed out, ignoring how embarrassing he looked. 

Axl didn’t let that affect him and replied with. “At least I have good clothes.” 

“But why are you even up this early?” 

“I’m going out to the city, just to do stuff like eat and go to stores. Why you’re up is a better question.”

“I’m going to hang out with X, he wants to show me something ‘relaxing’.”

“Awww, your boyfriend wants quality time with you!”

Zero glared at Axl, who was about to just fall on the floor and burst into laughter. 

“Don’t even go there,” he growled. Axl shrugged it off easily and reached into a bag he had been carrying on his waist. 

“If you’re going to see X, at least wear some shoes.” He then handed Zero a pair of Crocs. Zero look at them. They were red, which matched Zero’s style but what was on them was very questionable.

Axl had somehow put Zero's name on the left Croc, meaning he’d been planning to give these to him for a while, and the right Croc looked rather girly, with heart charms everywhere. Zero didn’t want them, but it was probably for the better if he had some shoes. He placed them on the ground and slid his feet into them.

“I’m never gonna wear these again, I’m just wearing them now since I don’t have a choice.” 

“Suit yourself.” Axl then just walked away, without another word.

_ That kid is something else, alright.  _ Was the only thing Zero thought as he walked towards X room. He didn’t bother questioning it for long though, since he was used to Axl’s eccentricity at this point. 

Zero eventually reached X’s room. To his surprise, the door was open when he touched it. He walked in, seeing X sitting on a couch, reading a book. Zero smiled a bit.  _ You’re so bizarre, X,  _ he thought. X’s room always threw Zero off for the sole reason that it had items. The books and bookshelves made sense, but a table? A couch? X even had a bed now. Yeah it was still a charger, but he had an actual bed. X really was the most human-like Reploid you’ll ever meet. And that was only proven by his appearance. X wore a blue and white t-shirt, short jeans, or jorts, as Axl called them, and blue sneakers, combined with his messy short brown hair, it was easy to mistake this Reploid for a human; even if he still had Reploid features on himself without armor: like lacking ears. He then looked up and saw Zero, smiling. 

“Glad you could make it,” he said, closing his book. 

X went over to place his book back on the bookshelf, then turned to Zero. “Follow me.” He motioned Zero to his room. The two walked in and Zero raised a brow. There were mats on the floor; ones used for sitting. Before Zero could even ask, X went to sit on one, he motioned Zero only with his hand to sit down. He would have questioned it there, but it wasn’t exactly concerning, just odd. Even for X. Zero sat down, he was at least 5 feet away from X. 

“So, what are we doing?” 

“Just something calming,” the blue reploid stated vaguely. 

Zero rolled his eyes. “Obviously, but  _ what  _ are we doing? What’s so calming about sitting?” 

X blushed, and then turned away from Zero. “Uh well-,“ X scratched his hair nervously. 

“X whatever we’re doing I won’t make fun of you, you do know that right?” Zero said, looking directly at X, who made eye contact. 

“Okay, okay,” X exhaled sharply. “I want you to... to... meditate with me.” 

“Meditate?” Zero said in confusion. “What’s that?” 

X gave a dumbfounded look and then sighed, feeling relieved. 

While Zero never made fun of X’s random human hobbies, he always felt this one in particular would get him a few laughs. He still wasn’t expecting Zero to be on board with it, but he went along and explained. 

“It’s a calming exercise that humans usually do. It helps relieve stress and anger, or just any other tension. I learned about it when I stayed behind to help a few people out during one of the wars. They said Reploids could do it, and I became curious. I only started doing it a few months back however, due to certain events.” X looked back at Zero. “If you don’t want to do it, that’s fine, I just-,“ 

“I’ll do it,” Zero said, cutting him off. 

X blinked. “You mean it?” The red Reploid gave a simple nod, which made X relax. “Okay.” He then clapped his hands together. “Just watch what I do and listen, you can manage that right?” 

“If I can handle orders on missions, then, yeah.” Zero smiled. “I can do this.” 

X straightened his posture and began to explain. “Okay, how we are sitting is fine, cross-legged and all. I just need you to gently rest your hands on top of each other like this.” X did so as an example, letting one hand lay upon another, hovering upon his lap but not laying on top of it. Zero copied easily, the only difference was which hands laid upon each other. X laid his right hand upon his left hand, while Zero rested his left hand upon his right hand.

“Now, I need you to close your eyes.” X closed his as he said it. “Just make sure you don’t go into sleep mode.” 

“Pft, please, I don’t fall asleep that easily,” Zero chuckled, but then put on a serious face as he closed his eyes. Total silence fell over the room after that. Zero sat in total darkness. It was odd to him, considering he wasn’t sleeping, not that he was tired, but, was this all he was doing? Sitting in darkness, for what purpose? To think of nothing? Before he could even question anything else he heard a voice, but it wasn’t X’s. 

“Zero.” Suddenly a light appeared in the darkness. Zero was confused. Why was he suddenly seeing light? Was this supposed to happen? But his confusion turned to fear as a figure appeared in the light. A human. An old man. 

“Zero. Go destroy him. He is our ultimate enemy.” 

“No,” Zero bit back the urge to yell, since he  _ knew  _ this wasn’t real and just assumed this was what was supposed to happen. He tried to go back to meditating but the man's words distracted him. 

“He is our enemy. Destroy him, Zero, that is your one and only goal.”

Zero knew who the man was referring to. It was X. He remembered, the second time he died, what his actual purpose was. To kill X. He still didn’t know the man’s name, but he knew it was his creator. 

“No. I won’t do it. He’s my best friend!” Zero shouted, however, opening his eyes, the man wasn’t there anymore. Instead, stood an old, yet familiar face.

“I-Iris,” Zero choked. Standing before him, was Iris. His navigator. His lover. She was broken, her clothes were ripped and her hair was messy. Even her eyes, her beautiful green eyes, looked nothing more than hollow grey shells. Those eyes looked directly into Zero’s.

“Zero,” she said in a voice as soft as a whisper. “Why? Why did you do it? Why did you kill my brother? I thought... I thought we wanted the same thing. A world where only Reploids exist.” She took a step closer, causing Zero to shake in fear. 

“Iris, I..., I,” He looked down as he stumbled with his words. He  _ knew  _ this wasn’t real. He knew it. Yet, he couldn’t ignore her. He couldn’t ignore what he had done. He covered his head with his hands, as a massive headache washed over him.

“What’s wrong Zero? Actually sad about the things you’ve caused?” Zero gasped at that voice, as he slowly looked up, lowering his hands.

“No, no! Why are you here?” Standing before him, was probably his biggest mistake of all, Sigma. The one who caused his life to be endless suffering, yet Zero was the one responsible for it. 

“Don’t look so sad.” Sigma grinned. “Without you, I wouldn’t be able to advance my plan.” 

“Shut up!” Zero growled. He arose, preparing to fight Sigma but some weight pulled him down to the ground. Zero's body slowly began to sink into the dark floor, merging into it. 

“I hope you know this, Zero.” Sigma leaned down, and grabbed Zero’s face by the chin, forcing him to look at him. “That every time I die, I just get stronger. That I just make more advancements in my plans. It doesn’t matter how many times you or X kill me, I’ll always be back. Best to give up now, and become a Maverick.” 

Sigma let go of Zero’s chin, as he slowly sunk completely into the floor. When Zero sunk into it, his robotic lungs burned. He felt like he was in water-, no, lava. 

Everything burned, and not because it was hot. It wasn’t hot, in fact, it felt cold. But the voices he heard... He felt like he was suffocating. The words, the awful thoughts cut through him. All of his past mistakes flashing in his mind as words. It hurt, so much, and it wouldn’t stop. The deeper he went, the more pain he felt.

_ You can’t save anyone. You're only hurting X. Give up. Stop fighting. You have no purpose. All you do is cause pain. You don’t deserve to be a Hunter. You should’ve stayed dead. You can’t love anyone without hurting them. Pathetic. Weak. Selfish. Killer. Maverick.  
_ _ Z. E. R. O. _

_ Ze. Ro. _

_ Zero _

“Zero!”

Zero’s eyes shot open. He was in X’s arms, almost being hugged. He remembered where he was. He was in X’s room. Sitting on a mat. Trying to meditate. Something he still didn’t understand. Zero just shrugged it off.

“Looks like I dozed off and had a nightmare,” he chuckled. 

“Except you didn’t.” X frowned, letting out a sigh. “You did meditate, but... You got lost in your thoughts. I don’t know exactly what happened, I just know you were fighting off some feelings inside you. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea for you to come.”

Zero then placed a hand on X’s shoulder. “Hey, It’s okay. I’m not upset or even turned off by it. Yeah, I don’t understand this meditation stuff yet, but I’ll figure it out. We can start it again, right? We got the whole day to ourselves, remember?” 

X looked at Zero, and nodded. “You’re right... Yeah. Just please, listen to me. Carefully, okay?” 

The two then resumed the task, getting back into the comfortable positions and closing their eyes. 

“It may sound odd but breathe with me.” 

“Breathe?” 

“Yes. Breathe in, breathe out.” 

While breathing wasn't required for Reploids, considering they did not need air to live, it was one of the very few things that was human-like that was familiar to them. Zero had breathed before, usually when exhausted from battles and was panting, but deep breathing wasn’t anything unfamiliar to the Reploid. He had taken deep breaths occasionally, whether it be to prepare for a battle or to keep himself from shouting at Axl. It was a simple thing to do that the Reploid never considered could be a regular thing. 

Both he and X breathed, in and out, almost in unison. X’s breaths were slower than Zero’s, who took notice of that and tried slowing his breathing down. They still weren’t in sync, but it was much more relaxing this way. Slow breaths. In and out. Alone in a room. And with X, it only made things calmer. Zero had completely forgotten what had happened earlier, he wasn’t really thinking anymore. All he cared about was his breathing and X. 

It was at this moment, Zero realized how much his time with X meant. They saw each other daily, worked together daily, even trained together daily, but this was different. Zero knew that it wouldn't last long, he knew the peacefulness the world was having would soon go away. Even if weekends became a regular thing for Hunters, even if another war was far from happening, he just knew something would happen. He knew Sigma, or some new threat would arise soon enough, and the same song and dance for the Hunters would repeat. 

Yet, he didn’t let it ruin this moment with him and X. The past and future didn’t matter right now. It didn’t matter what he did before this or what was going to happen to him after this, all that mattered was this moment. Nothing was going to ruin this peace for him. 

About 10 minutes passed by when X decided the meditation was over, which was crazy to Zero. It felt like hours they’d be sitting there, but it was best if they didn’t do that all day. As X was rolling up the mats, Zero approached him. .

“Hey, X.” 

“Yes?”

He then proceeded to pull his friend into a hug.

“You were right, I did need to relax. Thank you, X.” 

X smiled, accepting the hug.

“You’re welcome, Zero.”


End file.
